Tissa Ranasinghe (May 9, 1925 – November 2019) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n artist known for his work in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

. Born in 1925 the village of Yogiyana,The Bronze Beat
", ''Sunday Observer'', 12 August 2007, retrieved 2011-01-22 he studied art at the

College of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, in 1949, the year it was opened in the enthusiastic flowering of Ceylonese culture that followed the country's independence. After earning a diploma in 1952 he continued his studies at Britain's Chelsea School of Art and then the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

, receiving a certificate in bronze casting. He exhibited in a number of important shows, including "2,500 Years of Buddhist Art" at the French Institute, London, marking the worldwide anniversary of Buddhism in 1956. He also received a number of awards, including the first

Unesco The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Fellowship allocated to Sri Lanka under the Creative Artists Scheme. Returning to his homeland, he served as a visiting lecturerat the College of Fine Arts, taught at the Institute of Practical Technology, Katubedda, and in 1970-71 was principal of what was by then the Government College of Art and Art Crafts, Colombo. Returning to Britain, he taught at the Royal College of Art and established a studio in southwest London, where he remained for the rest of his life. One critic maintains that Ranasinghe "initiated a style of sculpture equivalent to

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

", with works that draw on ancient religion and mythology as well as down-to-earth modern realism. His works have been exhibited around the world, perhaps most strikingly in a solo exhibition, "Vision of the Buddha, Vision of the Gods", at the

National Gallery of Thailand The National Gallery () is an art gallery and one of Thailand's national museum (Thailand), national museums. It is located on Chao Fa Road in Bangkok's historic Phra Nakhon District, and is housed in the building of the former Royal Thai Mint. Th ...

, Bangkok. His work is in public collections in Britain, Sweden, and of course Sri Lanka, where he has done statues of three prime ministers and at least one

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

. He died in November 2019.

References

1925 births 2019 deaths Sri Lankan sculptors Alumni of the Royal College of Art Sri Lankan Buddhists Kala Keerthi {{SriLanka-artist-stub